Category: God’s Love

• A Word for the New Year

  Almost every day for at least the last ten years, I’ve started my morning in the comfortable sitting area of my downstairs office. I light the seasonal arrangement of candles on the coffee table, and settle into my Lazy Boy recliner. I spend from ten minutes to an hour quietly beginning the day. Before I…

  Marian

  January 13, 2020

  Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  candles, gratitude, Happy New Word, Happy New Year, hope, joy, kindness, love, mentally sing, peace, quiet time, special word, wisdom

• My Sister Nancy

  Today, November 14, would have been my sister Nancy’s 82nd birthday. She died eleven years ago, just a few days after her 71st birthday. (My age now.) I was alone at our Christmas Mountain timeshare when she died unexpectedly. Mim called me with the shocking and sad news. I spent the rest of my retreat…

  Marian

  November 14, 2019

  God’s Love, Music, Personal Retreats, Reflections

  big sister, birthday, Christmas Mountain, Hymns of Peace and Comfort, Nancy, Nancy Kornelsen, retreat, role model, sister, Talking with God through Music

• Getting Serious about a Bucket List

  The term “bucket list” came into widespread use after the 2007 movie Bucket List was released, starring Jack Nicholson and Morgan Freeman. The movie was about two old men who each had a terminal cancer diagnosis. Together they decided to do everything they could on their lists of “things to do before I kick the…

  Marian

  September 11, 2019

  Book Recommendations, bucket list, Goals, God’s Love, Group Retreats, Reflections

  Bible Camp, bucket list, Church of the Brethren, common good, conference, Drew Hart, Joan Chittister, Ken Medema, Lake Junaluska, National Older Adults Conference, NOAC, North Carolina, spontaneous, Ted Swartz

• Moving on to the Next Phase of Our Lives

  Monday of this week seemed really strange. It was the first day of the next phase in our lives. The day before, Anna, our last long-term assisted living resident, moved on to her next life. She had lived with us for eight years, and had just celebrated her 98th birthday a couple weeks ago. She…

  Marian

  March 20, 2019

  Assisted Living, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  “Christ in Our Home”, Anna, assisted living, assisted living phase, bed and breakfast phase, Country Comforts Assisted Living, Country Comforts Bed & Breakfast, Country Comforts Bed and Breakfast, moving on, next phase, Nightingale Suite, rainbow, Rainbow Hospice Care, retired, retiring

• The Love of a Dog

  On February 23 we celebrated Anna’s 98th birthday. Anna has been living with us as an assisted living resident for eight years now. Some of her family members came for a little party, and everyone, especially Anna, had a really good time. One week later, Anna had a stroke. It was about noon on Friday.…

  Marian

  March 4, 2019

  Assisted Living, Celebrations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  98, Anna, birthday, birthday party, Floey, God’s love, stroke

• A Glimpse of God’s Love

  Last Saturday, Mim and I tried to drive to Chicago, normally about a two and a half hour drive, for a memorial service. Unfortunately, we got only as far as the distant northwest suburbs before we decided to turn around and go home. Although the weather forecast for Chicago was to get only 1 to…

  Marian

  January 16, 2019

  Book Recommendations, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  Austin, Bumping into God, CCHC, Chicago, Circle Christian Health Center, Circle Church, Circle Urban Ministries, Dominic Grassi, funeral, God’s love, Jon Beran, Love of God, memorial service, mom, Mom’s faith, neighborhood, Nita Beran, trusting God

• A Long Talk with My Dog – the best way to begin the New Year.

  Floey jumped down from the couch, stretched her whole body, and sauntered over to me. I was sitting at my desk. She plopped herself down right next to me. But instead of resuming her nap, she looked up at me and asked, “What are you doing, Mom? You look like you’re just staring off into…

  Marian

  January 10, 2019

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, New Year, Reflections

  Floey, God’s love, groomer, haircut, inspiration, Listen, Love of God, New Year’s Resolution, patience, peace, reflections, small talk, special word

• Today’s Politics Should Prompt New Hymns

  I’ve been working on my next book of reflections on hymns, and just completed the story behind “O Master, Let Me Walk with Thee.” The writing of this hymn was prompted by the social and economic conditions in the United States following the Civil War. As I was explaining the context of this hymn to…

  Marian

  September 26, 2018

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  age of technology, Congregational minister, Congregational pastor, extreme poverty, extreme wealth, horrid Washington crew, hypocrite, industrial age, injustice, justice, MARYTON, O Master Let Me Walk with Thee, social gospel, social gospel movement, Washington Gladden

• What Can I Do?

  That question has been on my mind every day for the past couple weeks as I have watched the news from our southern border. And I know I’m not alone. A few days ago one of my Facebook friends wrote,  “I just keep giving because I don’t know what else to do beyond contact my…

  Marian

  June 26, 2018

  Book Recommendations, Goals, God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Reflections

  asylum, blogging, border patrol, Buenos Vecinos, Casita Copan, Central America, drug traffickers, El Salvador, Ellen Finn, Ellen Lippman Finn, Emotional Witness, gang violence, gangs, Good Neighbors, Guatemala, hit list, Honduras, immigration, long-term solution, Mexican border, RAICES, refugees, root cause, southern border, violence, World Refugee Day

• Little Hands

  Donald Trump gets very angry when people say he has little hands. I noticed his hands last night when he addressed the nation about his Afghanistan War strategy. He used his right hand to gesture a lot as he spoke, and I noticed that his fingers are relatively short. But obviously, his hands are big…

  Marian

  August 22, 2017

  God’s Love, Life’s Challenges, Music, Reflections

  “Christ in Our Home”, being proud, boast, boasting, conversation with God, Deep Love of Jesus, Donald Trump, little hands, longer fingers, More about Jesus, Once to Every Man and Nation, selecting music for church, short fingers